Majoring In Minors
by Peppermint Stick
Summary: Mary, Shane throws herself at anything that isn't female, and what you witnessed today was myself falling prey to her. You know you're the only one I'd ever throw myself at' AU Trory set in 1920s. Rory is society, Tristan isn't, but that's about to change


_A/N: Hola mis amores. Si, si, I never update, I know, and you want to murder me, I know. It's terrible. But while I'm getting over my writer's block for my other stories, I figured I'd go back to this idea I had a while ago. So basically, my other fics are still in the works and I promise I haven't abandoned them._

Background: Mmm, basically, early 1900s. . . . .like, 20's I guess? Rory is born into society. Her family is old money in Boston but she and her parents live in Stars Hollow, which is in Massachusetts, not Connecticut. Just go with it, the people from Hartford will come in later. Tristan is dirt poor, but I have something in store for that, and if you figure it out ahead of time don't review your guesses and spoil it for everyone else :) not being bitchy, but I hate when people do that. I think that's all you need to know, if something else comes up I'll explain it.

_I don't own Gilmore Girls or The Investigation by Sugarcult. You know how much I just love those songs. . . . . . . ._

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_**-**_

**_This could be perfect, it could be worth it.  
This could be perfect, if I wasn't worthless. . . . . . ._**

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**_-_**

"Take it back!" Tristan yelled as he chased Rory through the woods right outside of town.

"Nope!" she called back, several feet ahead of him.

"I'm serious! Take it back!"

She laughed, veering right to avoid colliding with a tree, "Maybe you and Shane will get married."

"Say that one more time and I'm never speaking to you again. And give me back my hat!"

She waved the hat in the air and continued sprinting, "Can I be the maid of honor?"

"Lorelai Leigh Hayden, if you say that I'm going to end up with that whore one more time then I'll-" but he stopped as the girl in front of him came to a halt. She glanced at him, grinning. They'd come to a small clearing where there were no trees. Rory was standing at the edge of a small drop-off that went down twenty feet with a deep pond at the bottom. A little to their right was the miniature waterfall that fed the pond.

She grinned wickedly and held up his hat. He shook his head at her, but she simply gave a small wave before stepping over the edge. A second later he heard her splash into the water. Tristan sighed and shook his head before jumping in after her. He hit the chilly water and went down several feet before propelling himself to the surface. When his head broke the water he opened his eyes to see a smiling Rory. She slapped his hat onto his head and wrapped her arms around his neck, "So. You and Shane."

He snorted, "Please."

She laughed, "What? I think you two are a cute couple. And I mean, the way you were throwing yourself at her..." she shook her head as she 'tske'-ed him, "I hope you two are happy together."

Tristan rolled his eyes, clutching the material of her dress that covered her hips, and pulling her closer to him so that their bodies were pressed together in the water, "Mary." he said quietly, touching his forehead to hers, "Shane throws herself at anything that isn't female." Rory laughed lightly and he grinned, "What you witnessed today was myself falling prey to her." he pecked the girl in his arms on the lips lightly, "You know that you're the only one I'd ever throw myself at."

Rory laughed, tightening her arms around him. They were both perfectly aware that she wasn't actually bothered by Shane, but took any opportunity that arose to annoy her boyfriend. "So, my birthday is Saturday."

He smiled, kissing her lightly, "Yes, I know. You'll be seventeen." he leaned down to kiss her.

"You're like an elephant." she said right before his lips touched hers.

His eyes narrowed as he pulled back, laughing, "What?"

She smiled and moved out of his embrace, paddling around in the deep water, "Elephants have really good memories."

"And because I can remember your birthday I'm like an elephant?" he asked, swimming around as well.

"Well, you didn't remember last year."

He looked over at her, "Uhh..."

She grinned, "Exactly."

"That wasn't my fault?" he said uncertainly.

Rory swam over to him, smiling, "No?"

"Uh-uh."

"And whose fault was it?"

"I told you I had amnesia from when Taylor's horse bucked me off while me and Jess borrowed two of them."

She snorted, "Tristan, the horse didn't buck you off. You tried to jump the fence and fell off while you were 'borrowing' them at two o'clock in the morning."

"I did not."

"Yes you did. Besides you and Jess were drunk that night, and the next morning you didn't remember what you'd done with the horses."

He rolled his eyes, "They found one of them a week later. Besides, they never proved who did it. All he knows is that there was a break in his fence."

"That you put there that night."

Tristan clicked his tongue, wrapping his arms around her again, "That Taylor _assumes_ we put there."

She shook her head, grinning, "He knows you did."

"Psh. Taylor blames us for everything."

"That's because most of the time we are the ones who do everything." Tristan just laughed, capturing her lips in his. She smiled against his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. But Rory pulled away after only a moment, "I saw one of his cows in the field behind my house this morning." she grinned, "Kirk was trying to round all of them up."

"Did he get the one in your yard?" he asked, rubbing small circles into her hip.

She grinned, "Well, yeah. I mean, he got the rope around it's neck anyway, but whenever he would try to guide it somewhere it would go the other way. It dragged him all across our yard and onto Babette and Morey's property." He laughed and leaned over, kissing her again.

"So how did you piano lesson go?" he asked, referring to the skill that her grandmother Emily insisted was vital for a young girl to master, but Rory hated doing.

She rolled her eyes, "Patty is out of town, so she had to have someone stand in for her."

"And I'm guessing that whoever she had stand in is the ridiculous part."

"Kirk."

"I thought he was rounding up Taylor's cows."

"That was this morning. He stood in for Patty this afternoon."

Tristan's eyes narrowed, "Can Kirk even play the piano?"

She shook her head, "Nope. Well, I take that back. He can play Chopsticks and Mary Had A Little Lamb. So he took forty five minutes trying to teach me Chopsticks, and when I finally convinced him that I can play it, he decided that it would be fun to just go up and down the scales until my hour was up." she rolled her eyes, leaning back in the water.

"He needs a girlfriend."

Rory laughed, "Yeah."

Fifteen minutes later they climbed out of the pond, and Rory pulled her dress over her head, laying it out in the sun to dry. Tristan did the same with his shirt and pants, so they were both left in only their undergarments. Rory sat down and he walked over to sit next to her. She pulled her knees to her chest and looked over at him, smiling. He smiled back, touching her cheek gently before leaning forward. Rory smiled, closing her eyes as his lips connected with hers. Her arms slid from her legs; one rested on his chest and the other curled around the side of his neck, bringing him closer. Tristan's hand slid from her cheek to the back of her head as he guided her to lay on her back on the smooth rock they were sitting on. His hand cushioned her head until it was completely flat against the ground, and then it slid out to rest on her hip, his other hand holding him up as he continued to kiss her. His right hand trailed slowly up her body, his fingertips grazing the skin.

And they just laid like that as the warm afternoon sun beat down on them, eyes closed, lips sliding slowly across each other. The only thing that changed was when his hand moved from her body to touch her hand and lace their fingers together. So now she was on her back and he was propped on his left elbow, leaning over her with his right hand laced with the fingers from her left. And her right hand was on his neck still, pulling him closer again. She always did that, and it was the most amazing thing to him. It was like no matter what, she was always able to pull him in a little bit more. No matter what, she always needed him to give her something more. She amazed him. He didn't know why. Didn't know what was so special about her. But he did know one thing. He wanted more of her. He needed more of her.

They both slowly pulled back, but stayed close, their faces inches apart. "Hi." she whispered, smiling lightly.

He licked his bottom lip, looking down at her with clouded eyes and a small smile of his own, "Hey."

"We should go." she said quietly, and Tristan looked over to see that their clothes were practically dry. Had they really been there that long?

"Mmm, I think I'm comfortable right here." he laced the fingers from both her hands with his and brought them above her head.

She grinned, "I'm sure you are. But we really do need to get back."

He kissed her neck lightly, "Ten more minutes."

Rory wriggled her hips in protest, "Five."

Tristan pushed into her hips with his own, successfully stopping her squirming and making her inhale sharply, "Nine." his lips didn't break from her neck.

She leaned her head back, "Four."

He broke his mouth from her neck and captured her lips, "No fair. I'm supposed to go down and you're supposed to go up." he kissed her again, "Eight."

She grinned kissing him back slowly, "Three."

Tristan's eyebrow quirked and he pulled back, smirking lightly, "Fine. Three." and he leaned back down, capturing her lips once more. His hand moved to the underside of her knee before trailing slowly upward. It skimmed over the back of her thigh and then slid back down to her knee. The pressure of her lips on his increased as she once again pulled him in further. Without breaking their lips apart, he pushed the skirt of her full body slip up until it bunched around her waist. He grinned against her lips as his fingers slowly made their way back up her leg, this time on the front of it. His fingernails scraped up the front of her thigh before he shifted his body to the side and parted her legs slightly. He felt her bite his bottom lip gently as his hand moved to skim the inside of her thigh. Tristan felt her hands clench in his hair, her legs tight with nerves, and then he pulled his hand away and broke this kiss suddenly.

He pecked her lips lightly and sat up. Her eyes flew open and she blinked slowly, confused as she glanced over at him. Tristan shrugged, "My three minutes are up."

Her jaw dropped as he turned away from her and reached over, grabbing his shirt. He'd done it on purpose. What an ass. She sat up as well and watched him snap the shirt to get the wrinkles and dirt out. She bit her lip, sighing heavily as he slipped it on.

Tristan grinned when he heard her sigh, pulling his shirt on over his head. Three minutes...yeah right. He didn't have to look at her to know what she was doing as he began a countdown in his head. Ten...

...he was reaching over for his pants...

...nine...

...he heard her sigh again and he could picture her rolling those amazing eyes...

...eight...

...she drummed her fingers on the rock...

...seven...

...she was biting one perfect lip, watching him and waiting for him to turn around...

...six...

...she chewed the insides of her cheeks and once more rolled her eyes, annoyed that he was playing this game...

...five...

...she bit her lip harder, pushing back the urge to stop him...

...four...

...he snapped his pants, removing the wrinkles from them as well...

...three...

...she slowly leaned forward, her hands and knees on the rocky ground as she shifted ever so slowly towards him...

...two...

...he put his right leg in his pants...

...one...

...she grabbed his hand and he grinned, turning to face her. "Yes?"

She smiled, pulling him back down so that he was on top of her, "Ten more minutes." she whispered, connecting his lips to hers.

_**ONE WEEK LATER**_

"Hey." Rory walked over to Tristan, slipping her arm through his and kissing him lightly.

"Hey." he replied as he continued to make his way down the sidewalk, slipping the bag from her shoulder that contained her piano books and slinging it over his own.

"You smell like wood."

"Well Mary, that's what happens when you work in a lumber yard." She rolled her eyes and he laughed, kissing the top of her head. "How was your lesson?"

She shrugged, "Patty was back today, so it was better. How was work?"

He shrugged as well, "Boring. Work is always boring."

"That's good."

"Oh yeah. It's the best."

She laughed lightly, resting her chin on his shoulder as they continued walking, "Well do you have to get home right away?"

"Yeah. My mom's working today and Harmony has to get to the diner by six, so I have to watch the kids."

"Need any help?"

He looked down at her, nodding, "Yeah." they walked the rest of the way in an easy banter, Rory thinking back on Tristan's family as they made their way from the center of town over to the poorer side where he lived.

There were seven children in the Hawthorne-Jenkins family. The oldest was twenty year old Harmony. Tristan's mother, Sylvia Hawthorne, had gotten pregnant at sixteen with her, and when her boyfriend found out, he'd taken off. Next was Tristan, two years later. All Tristan knew of his father was that he'd been in Stars Hollow for vacation and had a summer romance with his mother. As far as he knew the man didn't even know about him, but he had a feeling his mother had contacted him after she found out she was pregnant, but he didn't want anything to do with it. Then there was thirteen year old Julian, whose father had been an abusive drunk, leaving scars on Tristan's lower back and arms. Once Sylvia realized he was beating Tristan she'd left him, but by then it'd been too late. Ten year old Kale and six year old Gabrielle had the same father, and Tristan had thought that he was going to marry his mother, but then he died when the mine he was working in collapsed. And then there was three year old Ashlyn and nine month old Noah, who had the same father...Sylvia's current boyfriend. Tristan didn't think they would ever get married, but they all knew Caleb Jenkins was in the family to stay.

Sylvia worked as a seamstress along with the town's tailor, Harmony worked at Luke's, the town's diner, Tristan worked at the lumber yard, and Caleb worked construction with his brother. But all four salaries were only enough to supply the family of nine with the necessities, they still only had enough to live on the poor side.

A good number of people in the town didn't have a very high opinion of Sylvia Hawthorne, but that was only because they judged her by her story. It really wasn't as bad as it sounded, but most people weren't willing to get to know her. In a lot of ways, Tristan's mother reminded her of her own. Sylvia would do anything for her children, and other than Julian's father they'd been good men.

Before she knew it, they were at his house and he pushed the door open, resting her books next to the front door. As soon as they walked in, the sounds of wailing could be heard throughout the house. Tristan swore under his breath and walked quickly inside. Rory bit her lip, closing the door behind her and following him in. She recognized the screaming as Gabrielle and Ashlyn, coming from the livingroom. She entered the room a split second after him and he'd already picked up Gabrielle and was trying to calm her down. Tristan looked over at his younger brother and shook his head, "What the hell happened?" Kale was pacing back and forth along the wall,  
shooting his sisters dirty looks and kicking at the ground.

The three year old on the floor was still fussing as Rory came over to her and picked her up, holding her close. The little blonde girl wrapped her arms around the teenager's neck, crying into her shoulder.

"Kale!" Tristan snapped when the raven haired boy ignored him.

"She was being a brat!" he yelled, his nose wrinkling as his gaze fell on his six year old sister.

"What happened?" both the girls had calmed down to where they didn't have to yell to be heard, but it was obvious that Tristan was still angry.

"She kept whining and I told her to shut up and she wouldn't, so I took her doll away and she started freaking out!"

Tristan's eyes narrowed and he shook his head, "And you just let her scream and didn't give it back to her?"

"That was why I took it away in the first place! And then Ashlyn got all worked up because Gabby was screaming-"

"Jesus, Kale! Why can't you just get along? Why do you have to be so obnoxious? You're left alone for half an hour and you can't freaking manage to not get in a fight? She's six years old, give her the damn doll!" he yelled. The boy glowered, but threw the doll at his brother. The children all knew who was in charge of the house when Caleb wasn't home. Tristan handed the doll to his sister while his girlfriend continued to rock the youngest girl. "Where's Harmony?"

"She had to go in early." he hissed, walking towards the hall and his bedroom.

"Where's Julian?"

"Out back with Noah. He's been sick so Julian told me to stay with the girls while he took care of him." And with that he walked into the room he shared with their thirteen year old brother and slammed the door.

Tristan sighed, shaking his head slowly as he set his sister down. Rory smiled and walked over to him, shifting Ashlyn to her hip. "Tristan, he's just trying to help."

He looked over at her and closed his eyes tiredly, licking his bottom lip, "Yeah, and it would be great if he could figure out how to go about it the right way."

She kissed his cheek, setting down the now calm three year old, "I'll go get Noah and give Julian a break while you change." He nodded slowly, glancing down at his dirty shirt and thanking her before walking into the hall. She smiled down at the two girls playing on the rug and exited through the back door. Julian was in the back yard, Noah crawling around expertly. Every so often the teenager would wipe the sick infant's runny nose. She made her way over to the two and smiled gently, "Hey."

He looked up, "Oh, hey Rory." She sat down with them and Noah began making his way over to her, "Did you two just get here?"

She nodded as the nine month old collapsed into her lap. She picked him up, "Yeah, we did."

He glanced over at the small house, "Did Kale kill the girls?"

Rory laughed lightly, "No. They were just upset. He took away Gabrielle's doll, so she was crying, which upset Ashlyn, but they're okay now."

He nodded, "I figured they'd fight, but I didn't want to leave Noah with Kale. He's no good with babies. And mom said that since he's sick, being outside helps him."

The brunette nodded, "It does. All little kids like being outside."she looked over at Julian, "I think Kale just gets frustrated with Gabby. They'll get better as they get older."

He nodded, but didn't say anything. Rory bounced Noah, but her thoughts were on Julian. She'd been involved in this family for practically her entire life, having been best friends with Tristan from the time they were children. And she always felt bad for Julian. He was quiet and never said what was on his mind. He always seemed to think everything was his fault, even the fact that his biological father had been so abusive to Tristan and their mother. No matter how often his older siblings and mother assured him that it was in no way his fault, they all knew he felt it was. And that bothered Tristan because, even as frustrated as he got with Kale, Rory knew that his family meant the world to him, and he just wished that Julian would open up.

She watched as he stared at the trees, his dusty blonde hair falling into his eyes. "You want to go in?" she asked, standing with Noah. "I'll take him so you can get a break."

He glanced up at her and smiled, "Thanks."

Rory nodded as he stood, "No problem."

_**909090909090909090909090909090909090**_

Rory sat in front of the fire that Tristan had kindled, moving back and forth slowly in a rocking-chair as Noah dozed in her arms. The light outside was showing the first signs of fading and night would fall within two hours. Tristan was fixing a small, wooden toy horse whose leg had broken off, while the two girls played in front of the fire and Julian leaned against the far wall, reading a book Rory had brought for him. Kale hadn't left his room all afternoon. She rested the small boy in the old bassinet and crawled onto the floor to play with the girls.

There was a dull thud and it sounded as if the adolescent had thrown something against the wall of his room. None of the younger ones took any notice, but the two eldest in the room looked up. Tristan's eyes were focused in the direction of the hall, and Rory was looking over at him. She stood slowly and walked over to sit next to her boyfriend, facing him. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

The blonde just shook his head, sighing, "I have to idea what to say to him. He starts problems for no reason."

Rory smiled, running her fingers through his hair comfortingly. It really was amazing the way he dealt with his siblings. He was so caring towards them. It was just Kale. The boy was going through a rough age and he just couldn't seem to get along with anyone. "You do know that what you think means the world to him, right?"

He glanced over at her, surprised, "What?"

She smiled lightly, "Tristan, you're his oldest brother. He looks up to you like a father. The things he does are him trying to impress you. He's not doing it to be difficult. He wants you to think he can handle things."

He looked at her in disbelief, shaking his head, "But he can't."

Rory grinned, kissing him gently, "Go talk to him."

Tristan chewed on the insides of him cheeks, looking towards the hallway that led to the bedrooms. He rolled his eyes and laid down the toy before standing and walking slowly to the room. Rory smiled and sat back down on the floor with the girls.

Ten minutes later the two boys emerged from the back room, Kale running towards the front door with a football in his hands. Tristan was grinning, obviously amused as he followed his younger brother outside. "You want to play Julian?" he asked.

The lean boy glance up from his book and nodded slowly, setting it down. Gabrielle jumped up, "Oh, me too, me too! Tristan, can I play too?" she asked breathlessly, her light brown ringlets bouncing as she bobbed up and down.

He laughed, "Yeah, come on. We'll play two on two. You can be with me."

"Twis, Twis, I wanna play! Me, me!" three year old Ashlyn yelped, jumping as well.

Tristan's eyes narrowed and he crouched down to eye level with the minute bombshell. She pressed her lips together, rocking back on her heels, "Are you gonna play for blood?" her eyes widened and she nodded, her face serious. He nodded slowly, "Okay then, you can play." he grabbed her around the waist and swung her up on his shoulders. Rory grinned as she watched the exchange. Tristan shot her a wink and she bit her lip, standing and gathering Noah into her arms as she made her way out onto the front porch to watch them play.

Half an hour later Harmony made her way up the walkway to the house, laughing as she watched her five younger siblings play. It was obvious that Kale was getting annoyed that the two young girls were slowing down the game. As Harmony came onto the porch, she bid everyone hello and gave Rory a hug, thanking her for helping watch the children. The sixteen year old deposited the small sleeping bundle into his sister's arms. Harmony smiled down at the baby, her wavy blonde hair falling into her face. "Hey Gabby, Ashe? Do you two want to come in and help me start dinner?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ashlyn chanted, extracting herself from the game and running to the stairs. Gabrielle jogged over slower and the four girls made their way inside. Rory couldn't help a smile from spreading across her face as she heard the three brothers laugh as they started up a new game, Tristan versus Kale and Julian. They were playing for real now that it was just the men.

Rory dragged the bassinet into the kitchen and Harmony laid the sleeping boy in it as the two younger girls washed their hands and pulled chairs over to the counter to stand on so that they could help. Harmony dumped the ingredients for cornbread into two bowls and passed them to the younger girls to begin mixing while the two older ones began rinsing off the chicken they would cook.

"Thank you so much for helping with the kids and the cooking, Rory." Harmony said as she laid a raw chicken breast into a dish and grabbed another one to begin rinsing it off, "I don't know how we'd function without you."

She laughed, shaking her head, "I'm just here to help entertain. It's Tristan who makes things run when your mother and Caleb aren't home."

Harmony smiled, shaking her head to get the stray hairs out of her face, "I'm just so glad you came over today. Luke called and said that Caesar was sick and I had to come in. . . . ." she shook her head, "I hated to leave them, because Noah's sick so Julian would have to stay with him, and Kale is terrible with the girls. . ." she shook her head, "Just. . . .thanks. I'm sure you being here prevented Tristan from killing Kale." Rory laughed, but didn't say anything. Several moments passed in silence and Harmony dropped the chicken onto a heated pan on the stove as Rory began washing the vegetables the family would eat that night. "He really loves you, you know." The older girl said suddenly.

Rory looked up from her work, "What?"

Harmony looked over at her, "Tristan, he really loves you." she shook her head, "I don't know what it is, but whenever he's around you. . . . .he's different." She bit her lip, looking back down at her work, "He really loves you." Rory smiled, going back to her work, but didn't say anything. Harmony watched her out of he corner of her eye, chewing on the insides of her cheeks as one of the younger girls leaned over to ask Rory a question. She looked up and answered easily, the little girl laughed, and went back to work. It was amazing really, how much their whole family loved Rory. She and Tristan had been together for nearly two years and had been close friends since they were Gabrielle's age. She just fit with them so easily. It was like she was already one of them. Harmony had no doubt that one day Rory would be her sister in law, but watching her now. . . . .the manners. . . . .the more expensive clothing. . . . .the bag of piano books next to the door. . . . .she knew that Tristan would never be able to give that kind of life to Rory, the kind of life she'd grown up with.

Her grandparents were society from Boston, and her parents had moved to Stars Hollow to escape the city life. Her father was still a wealthy businessman and her parents owned several inns across New England. Harmony loved her brother, and knew that Rory did as well, but no matter how hard Tristan worked he would never be able to give Rory any semblance of wealth. Tristan had finished high school the previous spring, but he would never be able to further his education. It was impossible that he'd be able to make her happy materially. Rory went to a private all girls school in Boston and would probably go to a finishing school when she completed high school in the spring.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the three boys came in ten minutes later, Kale tossing the ball up and down while the two younger chanted about how they'd beat Tristan. He grinned at Rory and she smiled, watching them. She always thought it was so cute that he let them win at things. "Do you need to get home?" he asked.

She nodded, slipping the dish of vegetables into the oven. "Kale, Julian, help Harmony finish dinner. Mom and Caleb will be home soon." The two younger boys nodded obediently and washed up before helping. The five siblings bid Rory goodbye as she and Tristan exited the house, him grabbing her books before they left.

He took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together as they walked down the road towards town. Rory ran her fingernails over the inside of his arm lightly, smiling up at him, "You're doing really well with Kale."

"Mmm." she felt him shudder before taking both her hands in his and backing into the woods surrounding the wide path. Rory grinned, walking forward as he backed up until he hit a tree. She pushed her body against his, leaning up on her tiptoes. "You think so?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

She bit her bottom lip, "Yeah, I do." she whispered before connecting her lips to his. He deepened the kiss, one of his hands raising to curl around the back of her head as he pulled her closer.

-

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_**If I could be a part of your world, leave this all behind **_

_**I would investigate a perfect life with you **_

_**If I could say it in another way, if words could make this right **_

_**I would investigate a perfect love with you**_


End file.
